Gatfield David

Biography

 David Gatfield received a diploma in biochemistry from the University of Tübingen (Germany), and a PhD for his work on mechanisms of mRNA transport and degradation under the supervision of Elisa Izaurralde at the EMBL in Heidelberg. During his post-doctoral training 2004-2010 with Ueli Schibler at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) he developed a dual interest in circadian clocks and RNA biology. He joined the CIG as a Swiss National Science Foundation Professor in November 2010 and holds the position of an Associate Professor since February 2017.

Research Interest

 A considerable proportion of mammalian gene expression undergoes rhythmic oscillations driven by circadian clocks. While it has been commonly thought that the majority of mRNA and protein rhythms is generated by cyclic transcription, there is accumulating evidence that post-transcriptional mechanisms make important contributions as well. Using mouse organs such as the liver and tissue culture cells as model systems, we investigate how mechanisms acting at the mRNA level participate in shaping the rhythmic transcriptome and proteome, and what consequences such regulation has for metabolism, physiology and behaviour.